Reviews

When The Apricots Bloom by Gina Wilkinson

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donnawr1's review against another edition

4.0

This book was suspenseful and engaging as it explored the reality of living under the watchful and violent eye of the Mukhabarat during Saddam Hussein's regime. No one could trust anyone, not even their spouse or a child, therefore parents had to be very careful about what they said to their children, leaving them somewhat in the dark as to what was really happening around them. Teenagers were at special risk during this time period, as we see during the unraveling of this tale.

Friends were not always what they seemed, as you never knew who was an informant. The author particularly explored that theme of friendship when one of her main protagonists was forced by the Mukhabarat to inform on the Australian wife of a diplomat. The foreign wife had secrets and an agenda of her own while she was in the country just before the invasion by the US, when anti-Western sentiment was highest. At the same time, a broken friendship of the informant and her childhood friend is thrown into the mix and the 3 women interact in unexpected ways. The author did a good job of painting a picture of Iraq at that time, but also of the golden era before that when art and culture flourished in the 60s-70s. Sometimes it was overwhelming and I found myself needing a occasional pause in reading because it was so awful what people had to live through then.

The author was actually an Australian in the country during this time period and had a friend who she later found out was an informant. Although the story is not autobiographical, it feels authentic because of her experience and with the help of Iraqi friends to validate details throughout. A valuable read to add to our knowledge of different parts of the world.

jaimeturek1981's review against another edition

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dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

lottie1803's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

hotel_romeo_bravo92's review against another edition

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3.0

It was okay. While the story didn't have and was kind of like filler, there was a happy ending.

bmv0220's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

matilidaad's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

An interesting story with mildly interesting characters, could have been a lot more given the setting, premise and intriguing writing throughout the beginning and middle of the book. The ending was swift and uneventful